Alpine Road in Loves Park slated for up to $5 million in repairs

The city’s coterie of engineers has plans for reconstructing the main arterial road from Riverside Boulevard to Juniper Lane for about $5 million, which ultimately will call into play revenues from a new 1 percent sales tax.

The first phase of reconstruction, the section between Riverside Boulevard and Windsor Road, will start by fall and cost up to $3 million. The city will also spend approximately $750,000 in road resurfacing that will include patching problem areas around Windsor Road manholes. The second phase is still in the works.

“That is the one that, this past winter, we just could not keep up with filling potholes on it due to the severity of the winter conditions,” said Daniel Jacobson, Loves Park’s public works and development director. “Patches that we did put in place would pop out.

“We had quite a few claims of damaged vehicles, primarily blown tires and damaged wheels and that sort of thing. Alpine is that road.”

This spring, voters approved Loves Park’s 1 percent sales tax hike to help fund infrastructure projects. The tax is expected to generate about $2 million annually, according to Mayor Darryl Lindberg.

“First of all, we thank them for making this possible,” the mayor said. “Without the referendum passing, we would not have been able to do anything but patch and patch and patch. People will realize that the end result will be a lot easier, smoother transportation system.”

Bids for the Alpine Road reconstruction should happen later this year. Resurfacing bids could happen in the next month.

State data show up to 20,000 vehicles travel the stretch of Alpine Road between Riverside Boulevard and Juniper Lane on a daily basis.

Traffic counts actually have dropped by 20 percent since 2004, perhaps because of the poor pavement conditions, as well as changing demographics and shopping options.

The road is home to Valli Produce. The Alpine Road-Riverside Boulevard intersection is a major retail magnet, with strip malls and some chain restaurants.

Dennis Volpendesta, 58, of Belvidere works at Windsor Auto Sales, where Windsor and Alpine roads meet.

Volpendesta has a good view of Alpine from his workplace and can see it dotted with black marks — attempted patches. Customers occasionally roll into the auto lot with bent rims and other problems. Volpendesta said the road project is overdue.

“It’s like an obstacle course,” he said. “It should have been done years ago.”